Sam Darnold 'playing out of his mind' in hot start to Seahawks career, says coach Mike Macdonald

The Seattle Seahawks are reaping the rewards of their investment in Sam Darnold. The team has won three in a row, and its new quarterback was instrumental in stringing together those victories to give him a 3-1 start to his tenure with the franchise. Darnold came through in the clutch on Thursday when he led a game-winning drive in the 23-20 win over the Arizona Cardinals, and the locker room raved about his performance after another impressive effort early in his Seahawks career.

Darnold went 18 for 26 passing for 242 yards and a touchdown on "Thursday Night Football" and was at his best in the closing seconds. Capitalizing on strong starting field position after the Cardinals tied it up with 28 seconds to play, Darnold pushed his offense into field goal range and set up a last-second 52-yard boot for Jason Myers.

"Sam's playing out of his mind right now," Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald said after the win. "You see him, he's just such a cool customer, but he's a guy on a mission. He's so determined for us to be a great team and a great offense, and he's doing a great job leading us."

Sam Darnold is back: For the second straight year, the Seahawks QB looks like the right bet for a new team

Cody Benjamin

It took longer than expected for Darnold to kick his career into gear. The No. 3 overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft bounced across five rosters in his first eight years as a pro and did not latch on as a starter with any of them -- until now. The Seahawks invested in him after a breakout season with the Minnesota Vikings, who already had their future tied up with the injured J.J. McCarthy. Before that, Darnold fell out of favor with the New York Jets three years after they drafted him and spent much of his time with the Carolina Panthers and San Francisco 49ers as a backup.

The discourse surrounding Darnold as a bust may be a thing of the past, though, with the way he played over the last season and change.

"I think Sam is a great player," said Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba. "I don't think any of [the narratives] matter. Him being a Seahawk and us just focusing week after week is our mindset and definitely his mindset and approach."

Darnold's propensity to turn the ball over long marred his career, and it popped up in Week 2 when he threw two interceptions. But outside of that blip, he has been accurate and efficient in Seattle, completing at least two-thirds of his throws in each game and ranking in the upper half of the league at 226.3 yards per contest.

Darnold also showed off his clutch gene on Thursday when he connected with Smith-Njigba on a critical throw to set up the game-winning kick.

"At the end of the day, when you get in those two-minute situations, we run through those situations so much in practice," Darnold said. "All I can do is be me."